The Last Ten Seconds
by Jessica-Lupin-xx
Summary: One-Shot. 'This was it. The last ten seconds, and then he'd be gone.' Reid is about to ascend, and tries to convince the others he isn't addicted, but is he really so sure? Takes place in Tyler's POV. Crappy title, sorry. Rated for language.


**A/N:** Hey, I'm Jessica. This is my first fan-fiction, so it might not be the greatest, but I'll try my best! I've tried writing stories before for fan-fiction (intending on writing it all and posting it chapter-by-chapter, because I'm so evil), but always ended up not wanting to finish them, so I've decided to stick to one-shots instead. So here it is then! Hope you like it!

**Disclaimer:** I do not own the Covenant or any of its characters. I sincerely wish I did, but I don't seem to be that fortunate… -sigh-

[Tyler's POV]

He'd done it again. Typical, really. But he'd sworn he would stop. And as usual, I believed him.

Reid had always taken more of a liking to the power than the rest of us. We all knew it. Even him. When Chase had showed up, it was like catching an inevitable glimpse of the future: Addiction. It was an inescapable black hole, sucking each of us into its abyss of seduction and despair, one at a time, until there was nothing left of us.

Reid had fallen into the vortex. And he was just too far out of reach for us to pull him back. We'd done everything we could. But it was too late; he was too far gone. He was a ticking clock that could stop any minute, and all we could do was sit and watch the second hand maintain it's steady beat.

_Tick. Tock. Tick. Tock. Tick. Tock._

Silence.

_Tick. Tock. Tick. Tock. Tick. Tock._

"Jesus Christ, would someone just say something already? It's like you've already booked my room at the fucking morgue or something. Stop acting so damn depressed, and do something useful. Like getting me a drink!"

Reid scoffed as no one budged from their place. Only four minutes left. Four minutes until his ascension, and then it would be all over.

"Hello? Did no one hear me? Come on, it's my dying wish, just give a man a drink!" he joked dryly.

"That's not funny Reid," Caleb stated firmly. Reid didn't realize how hard this was for him. They may have fought on an almost daily basis up until now, but they were still like brothers. We all were. It still killed all of us. Especially me.

"Come on, man. It is! All you guys think is that this is the last you're seeing of me. I'm not done yet, boys. I'm not as far gone as you-"

"Reid, just shut-up, 'kay? I'll get you your damn drink," Pogue muttered. He shifted out of Kate's embrace and walked over to the mini fridge. He tossed each of us a bottle of water and returned to his seat.

Three more minutes. Just three more minutes, and I'd lose the only true friend I'd ever known. The only one who ever really understood me.

Reid and I had looked out for each other as best friends and brothers for years. There was nothing we didn't know about each other. In a platonic way, of course. He was the only one to whom I could express my uncertainties, and I was the only one he ever opened up to. He knew everything about how I felt being treated second-rate to the rest of the covenant for being youngest. I knew just how much he struggled with his impending addiction.

He was petrified. Even now, I could see it in his eyes. Whenever the others would mutter amongst themselves, or look at the clock, he would glance over, and his guard would fall. The worst part was, he could tell how scared I was.

I tried my best to collect myself, but he saw through my façade far too easily. He always said I was an open book. But how could I not be? How could I not be falling apart when in two minutes I would never be able to talk to my best friend anymore? I'd never get to explain to him just how much I cared about him. I mean, we're brothers. Not bonded by blood, but something even more sacred. Our covenant. And now our covenant was going to fall apart.

Pogue would avoid it; wrap himself up in Kate and his motorcycle until he'd wake up and realize his life had passed him by and he didn't even know the rest of us anymore.

Caleb would start using, but whenever the rest of us would confront him about it, he'd tell us it was none of our business; that it was his life… Just like Reid would always say.

And I… I would go insane. I'd act for the first while like I was handling it, just like I always do when things get bad, but without my best friend, I wouldn't be able to carry the burden of it anymore… Not by myself. I'd crack under the pressure. And then Chase would sense our weakness, and pick us off one by one, until we were all gone.

_Tick. Tock. Tick. Tock. Tick. Tock._

One minute. One minute and our entire world would fall apart.

Caleb stood up and walked over to where his jacket lay slung across the desk. From his pocket he drew four restraints.

"Aw, hell no! Come on man! You're joking!" Reid cried out in frustration.

"Reid, shut up. You're not making this any easier." Caleb muttered. He walked over to the bed and began tying Reid's wrists to his bedposts.

"Look, unless you plan on bringing me a chick once this is all over, there's no way in hell I'm being tied up!"

"Damn it, Reid! You've got less than a minute until you ascend, all right? Can we not argue about this now?!"

"All right then, promise that when I'm done ascending you'll get me a chick to lay, and I'll let you tie me down."

"Reid, what the hell did I say about—"

"Guys, can you quit it already?! We've only got twenty seconds." I bellowed.

They both turned towards me, probably to tell me off. Then the angry expression on their faces dropped, and I realized I was crying.

"Fuck… Look, just quit it, all right?" I ordered angrily, wiping away the tears with the back of my hand.

"Guys?" Kate began shakily. "Ten seconds."

This was it, the last ten seconds, and then he'd be gone.

"Shit!" Caleb said in a panicked voice.

_9 Seconds…_

He scrambled to tie the last two restraints.

_8 Seconds…_

Kate buried her face into Pogue's chest and Sarah began to cry.

_7 Seconds…_

Caleb glanced out the window, to see the dark thunderclouds approaching, foreshadowing the inevitable doom.

_6 Seconds…_

Reid turned back to me with a frightened look on his face.

_5 Seconds…_

"Baby Boy, I'm gonna be fine, right?" He asked nervously.

_4 Seconds…_

I stared at him blankly, unable to respond as the first roar of thunder rang throughout the sky.

_3 Seconds…_

'I can't watch this!' I thought to myself. 'I can't. I can't just sit here and watch him—'

_2 Seconds…_

Reid paled and began to tremble uncontrollably.

_1 Second…_

Caleb buried his face in his hands, and the first surge of lightning shattered through the window.

"AAAAHHHH!" Reid screamed in anguish as the lightning pierced his body. He involuntarily thrashed against the restraints holding him in place, nearly breaking free of their hold. His body shuddered with pain as the surge of the power erupted inside of him.

I could feel tears slowly slipping down my face. This was my best friend, and he was being tortured in front of me. Tortured, and I couldn't do anything to stop it.

I rose from my seat and flung open the door, running into the hallway, just wanting to be anywhere away from those tortured screams. Away from his deathbed.

I slammed the door behind me, and sank to my knees. I could still hear him screaming in my mind. See his body seizing as if begging someone to end his agony.

I heard the doorknob turn again behind me, and as the door creaked open, the sound of his shrieking cries reverberated into the depths of my eardrums, nearly driving me insane. Then the door closed, and the torturous sound was muffled once again.

Sarah sat down beside me and grabbed hold of my arm, sobbing. She had never been very close to Reid, but knowing how the whole ordeal was affecting Caleb was breaking her heart. We sat there for the few minutes that seemed like hours, trying to escape the trauma of what we had just witnessed. We could hear the screams die down.

My heart sank. I was able to picture the scene in my mind: The last wave of power striking Reid's already fragile body, his form freezing in a state of fatigue, before his head would fall back onto his pillow. He would take one last shuddering breath, and his eyes would close. That would be the end of my best friend.

I couldn't control the moan of anguish that escaped my mouth before I broke down. I felt Sarah wrap her arms around me and press her face against my shoulder.

The door opened.

"Ty, man, come on…" Pogue muttered. He slowly removed Sarah from my side and lifted me up by the arm.

"Fuck off, Pogue" I mumbled, shaking him off of me.

"Ty, Reid needs you, man. He's really weak, but he might still make it. Just come and talk to him for a minute. He's freaking out. He didn't know that you left."

I looked up at him, feeling a wave of shock and relief wash over me. There was still a chance?

And then guilt. I left. I should have stayed in the room. But I left him alone. I betrayed Reid. I had to go apologize.

I turned to the doorway to find Caleb and Kate exiting the room.

I opened my mouth to speak, but Caleb spoke before I had the chance to say anything.

"He wants to talk to you alone."

I nodded solemnly before entering and closing the door behind me. I turned to the bed, unsure of the state I would find Reid in.

He was lying down against his pillows, a blanket wrapped securely around his torso. The restraints had been removed, so his hands rested casually across his stomach, already enfolded in his trademark fingerless gloves. His exhaustion was obvious. His facial expression appeared blank, but I knew he was hurt and confused as to why I hadn't stayed.

"How you holding up?" I asked hesitantly.

"All right." He responded gruffly. "You?"

I waited, not quite sure how to answer. "Better than a few minutes ago."

He looked at me apprehensively before sliding slightly away from me in his bed and patting the spot next to him.

I walked over and sat on the edge of his bed. Reid began to shift himself into a sitting position, before wincing in pain and giving up. I reached over and helped him lift himself up. He nodded at me in thanks.

He cleared his throat. "So… Why'd you leave?"

It was simply put; in the brash tone that only Reid could master. But I couldn't word my response so easily.

"Look, I…" I sighed. "You don't know how hard it was for us to watch you—I couldn't just…"

I ran my hands over my face, trying to find a way to put words to what I had felt at that moment. The moment when I thought I was going to lose the most important person in my life forever.

Reid put a hand on my shoulder and squeezed it, forcing me to look up at him.

"Ty, I'm not mad. I get that it was hard for you. But I'm not addicted, and I knew that. Yeah, I'll admit, I was pretty damn close for a while, but I got past it… Remember around Caleb's birthday when you all thought I had been using like crazy?"

I nodded and gestured for him to continue.

"Well, I was using a lot. I was pissed that Caleb kept accusing me, and you all seemed to believe him, so I used. Figured it was what you were all expecting, so why disappoint, right?" he chuckled to himself bitterly.

"But the night Pogue was attacked, you flipped at me for using so much. You thought I was already addicted, and you thought I wasn't gonna make it through my ascension. And, I don't know… I stopped. You were never mad at me for using before. Well, not really, anyway. I'd heard it all the time from Caleb, and hell, even Pogue would bitch sometimes. But not you. I was kind of surprised. And…" he trailed off, clearly uncomfortable.

"Well, you're my best friend, you know? It was different from when the others told me. You weren't saying it because you thought I was immature or deliberately trying to piss people off. You knew that I would stop if you told me straight out you wanted me to. All Caleb would talk about was how I was risking exposing him. He didn't even pretend to give a shit about me, so I didn't give a shit about what he had to say."

I nodded in understanding, knowing how hard it was for him to admit everything.

"But yeah… I'm not mad that you left. Hell, if you were the one in my place I would've had to leave too. Just make sure that I know next time, all right?"

"Sure," I agreed, "I'll make sure to announce it in the middle of all your screaming next time." I rolled my eyes.

He chuckled. "Whatever man."

"Hey… I'm sorry though, all right? It's just… I mean, you are my best friend, and to see that… I dunno, I just had to get out, you know?"

"Yeah. I get it." He said, slugging me lightly in the shoulder.

We sat silently for a few minutes, just thinking to ourselves.

"Hey, Baby Boy?"

"Yeah, Reid?"

"Do you know if Caleb got me a chick to lay, or what?"

I sighed. "Well, that proves that you're gonna be fine, huh?"

I got up and moved towards the door.

"Hey, what the hell? Baby Boy, get your ass back here! Or bring me a chick!"

"Good night, Reid."

"Baby Boy? Yo, Tyler, what the fuck? Get back here!"

"TYLER!"

**A/N:** So, that's it then! My first ever (completed) fan-fiction! Yeah, I know, the ending was a little crappy, but like I said, it was a first time thing, right? So please, review, and give me some feedback. Constructive Criticism is welcome, because I always love to improve! Thanks for reading it, and I'll try to get another one posted up sometime soon.

-Jessica

P.S. Just in case any of you don't know yet, there is going to be a sequel! The script is written and most of the cast has signed back on already, and they should begin working on it this year! :)


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